News
Court orders Umeh, Anambra Senator, to pay N135million debt to AMPCON
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, ordered Victor Umeh, Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, to pay N135,722,303.40k along with accrued interest to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over his unpaid bank loan.
Delivering judgment in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/AMC/12/2022 filed by AMCON), Ekwo, who declared that Umeh was actually indebted to the body, issued an order directing the forfeiture of Umeh’s 5,000,000 units of Skye Bank shares in the records of the Central Securities & Clearing System to AMCON, while also awarding a cost of N2million in favour of organization.
Umeh, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Diaspora, was said to have secured a loan of N23,250,000.00 from the now defunct Skye Bank in January 2008 “to enable him invest in and purchase shares of a financial institution in Nigeria,” but had since defaulted in the repayment.
“The tenor of the credit facility granted the defendant was specifically fixed for 356 days. The offer letter contained various other explicit terms and conditions which the defendant accepted by duly executing the memorandum of acceptance. The defendant utilised the funds granted to him as a credit facility by the bank. However, at the expiration of the tenor of the facility, the defendant failed and neglected to liquidate the credit facility as per the contract,” the document, read.
AMCON stated that it later acquired the unpaid debt when Skye Bank became unsuccessful in making Umeh repay, adding that the suit was to recover the debt which stood at N135,722,303.40k as at April 2011.
Ekwo, who in his judgment on Monday, noted that despite being served with court documents concerning the case, Umeh failed to file any response or make any effort to enter a defence, said: “It is to be noted at this point that the defendant, upon being served, failed to enter a defence in this case.
“It is trite law that the net effect of the failure of a defendant to file pleadings is that the assertions of the claimant in his pleadings stand unchallenged and are deemed admitted and established. It is also trite that the effect of a defendant’s failure to call evidence in defence of the claims against him at the trial is that he is presumed to have admitted the case made against him by the claimant.
“I find that the plaintiff has established its case by a preponderance of evidence as required by law. Consequently, judgment is entered per terms as follows:
*A declaration is hereby made that the defendant is indebted to the plaintiff, in the sum of N135,722,303.40 representing the principal debt sum plus all the accrued interest and charges, at the rate of 15 percent per annum drawn up to 25th January, 2021, being the sum due and outstanding from the defendant to the plaintiff.
*A declaration is hereby made mandating the defendant to pay to the plaintiff the sum of N135,722,303.40 representing the principal debt sum, plus all the accrued interest and charges, at the rate of 15 percent per annum drawn up to 25th January 2021, in settlement of the debt due and outstanding from the defendant to the plaintiff.
*An order is hereby made mandating the defendant to pay the plaintiff a sum representing 15 percent of the principal sum, as interest on the judgment sum, from 26th January 2021, till the date of delivery of judgment.
*An order is hereby made mandating the defendant to pay the plaintiff a sum representing 15 percent of the judgment sum as interest on the judgment sum, from the date of delivery of judgment till the date of full and final liquidation of same.
*A declaration is hereby made that the defendant is liable to a total forfeiture and divestment of all his title, rights, interests, benefits, and claims in respect of the 5,000,000 shares of Skye Bank shares in the record of the Central Secures & Cleaning System while the plaintiff is entitled to take over, as beneficial owner, all the title, rights, interests, benefits and claims in respect of same.
*An order of final foreclosure and final forfeiture is hereby made foreclosing and divesting the defendant of his title, rights, and interests, in respect of the 5,000,000 units of Skye Bank shares in the records of the Central Securities & Clearing System and vesting same in the plaintiff in furtherance of part liquidation and satisfaction of the outstanding debt obligation of the defendants due to the plaintiff.
*An order is hereby made mandating the defendant to pay to the plaintiff the sum of N2,000,000 00 as costs for filing and pursuing this claim.”
Hours after Mohammed Hayatu-Deen did, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, also flatly rejected the outcome of the presidential primaries, of the African Democratic Congress, alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement and electoral malpractice.
Amaechi former Minister of Transportation and former Governor of Rivers State, described the announced results as “concocted,” insisting that the process failed to meet the standards of transparency and fairness earlier promised by the party.
He said in a statement: “I unequivocally reject the concocted results being announced,” Amaechi stated.
He said he had previously maintained that he would only accept the outcome of the primaries if the process was free, fair and transparent, stressing that the exercise did not reflect the democratic values the ADC claimed to represent.
“I will not accept results from a process that does not reflect the values that the ADC had pledged to uphold, to rescue Nigerians from the impunity and gross mismanagement that our country is currently facing in the hands of the ruling party,” he said.
Amaechi alleged that a significant number of party members were denied the opportunity to vote during the exercise.
“There’s no way that about eighty percent of members of the party were not allowed to vote, and you expect me to accept such results,” he stated.
The former Rivers State governor questioned the moral basis of the ADC criticising the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged electoral malpractice while allegedly engaging in similar conduct internally.
“A party that criticizes the ruling APC and INEC for vote buying, rigging and writing of results, cannot be engaged in vote buying, writing of results, and other electoral malpractices that leads to the disenfranchisement of voters who are party members. This is not acceptable!” he declared.
Amaechi said the ADC was envisioned as a platform to amplify the voices of ordinary Nigerians and provide credible political alternatives irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social background.
His rejection of the outcome is expected to deepen tensions within the opposition party following the conclusion of its presidential primary election.
“These timeless virtues of devotion, selflessness, and submission to divine will are values our nation desperately needs today,” were the exact words with which Godswill Akpabio, attempted to rouse Nigerians to the ethos of unquestionable faith and service to the country.
Akpabio, Chairman of the National Assembly, who drew example from Prophet Ibrahim, admonished Nigerians to emulate his unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
The Senate President, who conveyed his sentiments via a statement by Eseme Eyiboh, also used the specifically hail President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Kashim Shettima and Muslim faithful in Nigeria and around the world as they celebrate Eid El Kabir.
Stressing that the occasion called for prayer and sober reflection on the theme of sacrifice, he added: “This sacred occasion reminds us of Prophet Ibrahim’s unwavering faith, obedience, and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of Almighty Allah.
“To our dear President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his vice, Senator Kashim Shettima and Muslim brothers and sisters, I felicitate with them on behalf of my family, constituents and the Senate on this blessed Eid. May the lessons of sacrifice, compassion, and generosity that define this season strengthen your faith and bring peace to your homes.
“As you share with the less privileged and extend love to neighbours of all faiths, you embody the true spirit of Nigeria. To all Nigerians, I urge us to use this solemn period to pray fervently for peace, security, and prosperity in our land. Let us pray for our troops in the frontlines, for farmers to return safely to their fields, and for unity to prevail over division in our Nation.
“Eid El Kabir also calls us to deep reflection on the future of our country. Just as Prophet Ibrahim was tested, Nigeria is in a season of testing. The sacrifices we make today in patience, in tolerance and in choosing hope over despair will determine the Nigeria our children inherit.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda of this administration, supported by the National Assembly, is anchored on that same principle: that meaningful progress often requires collective sacrifice.
“May Almighty Allah accept your prayers and sacrifices. May He heal our land, guide our leaders, and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Barka da Sallah. Eid Mubarak.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
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